Cockerill was writing after Danny Vukovic had his contract torn up by Turkish club Konyaspor, with the former Central Coast Mariners goalkeeper left in limbo by flaky head coach Ziya Dogan.
The fact that organisation at one of Turkey’s mid-tier clubs is chaotic should have come as no surprise – did no one else read Darius Vassell’s blog? – but it’s hard not to sympathise with Vukovic, who was shoved aside simply because new coach Dogan had too many foreigners in his squad.
But if Vukovic has learned the hard way that European transfers don’t always end in glory, is Cockerill right in his assessment that Australian players “are best advised not to jump at any offer that comes along.”
“The A-League is directly connected to Asia, and is a shop window to the world. Look for opportunity, by all means, but only when the circumstances and the timing are right,” Cockerill argues.
A fair point, but how do the players know when the timing is right?
Look at Mitch Langerak: he played just 21 games for Melbourne Victory, but will be on the bench for Borussia Dortmund when they run out in front of 80,000 fans against Bayer Leverkusen on Sunday night.
And Langerak has a good chance of featuring in the Bundesliga this season given that Dortmund’s number one Roman Weidenfeller is one of the most injury-prone goalkeepers in European football.
There’s a case to argue that the 1997 UEFA Champions League winners are in a different class to Turkish minnows Konyaspor, but essentially the sentiment is the same – when Australian players have had the chance to try their luck in Europe in the past, we’ve always simply wished them well and bid them adieu.
Perhaps that no longer needs to be the case, and with the likes of Jason Culina and Nicky Carle calling the A-League home, there’s no doubt that Australian players now have a viable domestic competition in which to ply their trade.
But with the season still only seven-months long and players forced to work around a difficult schedule for both the Asian and World Cups, it’s not hard to see why some of the nation’s middling talent might still be tempted by the bright lights of Europe.
Indeed, this season may prove somewhat of a litmus test for those aiming to claim a regular place in the Socceroos, even if new coach Holger Osieck has promised to cast a more serious look over locally-based talent.
A bleaker assessment might suggest that the calibre of players who leave the A-League simply haven’t been up to European standards, with Michael Beauchamp and Ruben Zadkovich already back in Australia, while David Carney struggles on at Dutch club FC Twente.
Let’s hope that young trio Adam Sarota, Michael Zullo and Tommy Oar receive some game time at FC Utrecht this season, but even if they don’t, does it mean that the majority of young Australian players should simply stay in the A-League?
How different would Mark Viduka’s career have been if he had the choice to stay in Australia? Or if Viduka is too obvious an example, what about Jason Culina?
Would they have earned the recognition they deserve – and the commensurate pay packets – had they not taken the leap and moved to Europe?
It’s an interesting hypothesis, and I’m keen to hear your views.
Should Australian players stick around in the A-League, or should they take a chance and head to Europe whenever the opportunity arises?
drew777
Roar Pro
@david v that is
AndyRoo
Roar Guru
I agree with this. Unless the kid is playing in the A league then theirs a huge gap from NYL/State league (especially if their outside the bigger states) to a big european club. I think it's different strokes for different folks. Some will do fine and just need game time in professional football under a decent coach....others probably need to be an environment away from home where they have to fight for their spot.
clayton
Guest
I don't like FFA blocking the kiddies from going to Europe. The chances of becoming a professional footballer are pretty low, so many fall by the wayside. But that is a decision for young players and their families imho.
viper1627
Roar Rookie
Mike T , I heard this week that the ruling about the international transfer of kids between the age of 16 and 18 , who were born outside of the EU , has had a major reshuffle . I heard because the FFA and FIFA has been using the rule 19a across the board to anyone from outside the EU and stopping them from obtaining their ITC , when they feel they have moved for football reasons . But what this does not allow for is the kids that hold an EU passport that were born outside the EU . By applying rule 19a to EU passport holders FIFA has been told by the EU parliment , that they are breaking EU law , by stopping an EU citizen from living and working within any EU country from the age of 16 . Which is EU law . Now any 16 to 18 year EU passport holder who applies for an ITC , will have their application lodged under rule 19b which will treat them as an EU citizen , thus stopping the FFA and FIFA from blocking their ITC
drew777
Roar Pro
not sure I follow...
David V.
Guest
Many countries with less than we have economically are still far more able to produce talent. It was no mean feat for Wynton Rufer to make it in Europe at a time when it was much harder from players outside of Europe to do so. But NZ's feat of qualifying for 1982 was an achievement of epic proportions- at a time when Arab nations were starting to throw money at the game (hiring big name foreign coaches) and China had their best-ever team.
Greg Russell
Roar Guru
I saw an interview with Wynton Rufer at the end of his playing career. He was asked what he would advise an up-and-coming player to do. Rufer was adamant: "Stay at home". His reasoning was simple. If you are an import player at a European club, you are expected to be a finished product, not a development player. So the club is not interested in developing you - such money they use for local players. This means that if you are good enough, then you play, but if you are not good enough, then you do nothing, and therefore you go backwards at a rate of knots. So Rufer said he advises kids to stay in New Zealand and Australia until they are at least 20. He said the standard is OK, the competition is fierce, and at least you get to play. And remember he said all this before the advent of the A-League, which has raised standards. Rufer himself says that he was lucky: although he was not a finished product when he went to Europe, the Swiss league was at such a level (and I guess his own level was abnormally high) that he could get game time even though he was still not fully developed. But most players aren't going to be this lucky. Anyway, if this is Wynton's opinion, that's good enough for me. However what it ignores is the question of money. I don't know what amount of money was involved in the case of Vukovic, but let's make a reasonable guess that the offer he got from Turkey was at least 2-3 times what he was on at Newcastle. It's hard to knock back that sort of temptation, even if one knows that one might go backwards as a player. How does Vukovic know that he'll ever get this sort of chance again? It's easy enough for Rufer to say "Stay home until you are fully developed", but very, very few are going to to turn out to be anywhere near as good as him. Australia has a strong economy, but the reality is that football is but one of many professional sports, and therefore it cannot offer as much money as countries where it is by a long way the major sport, and the economy has development that is near (or exceeds) Australia's. So there will always be cases like Vukovic's.
Art Sapphire
Guest
Thanks for stating the obvious, David V.
David V.
Guest
You find talent in the schools, amateur leagues, factory teams even... you can find them if you search hard enough!
mintox
Guest
A couple of people have mentioned age, and I think that is a very important component when talking about moves overseas. The majority of the time, if you're good enough at a young age, you will have been noticed and picked up by a good team somewhere in Europe. The players we've produced that have had moderately successful careers in Europe have more often than not been picked up at a young age. The likes of Emerton, Grella, Bresciano, MccDonald, Cahill, Garcia, Carney, Valeri were identified early in their careers and taken into Academies or the first team in good leagues. It suggests that players like Langerak, Spiranovic, Zullo, Sarota etc are right to go overseas, going to a good club and developing your skills in the right environment is a great idea. Langerak is 21 and has been picked up by Dortmund, Dean Bouzanis is sitting on the books of Liverpool at an even younger age, Brad Jones was at Boro by the age of 17 yet Vukovic is trying to make it at the age of 25 and not only that he's making a move to Turkey which, unless you're at a team like Galatasaray would suggest that you should probably think twice. By all means let the young ones go to Italy, Spain, Holland, England, Germany but no lower than second division. If players are being offered moves to leagues like Romania, Norway etc, they might as well stay in the A-League.
David V.
Guest
A successful youth system does produce players who go on to successful and productive careers wherever they may be.
Art Sapphire
Guest
Here's a good example - Victory's own Grant Brebner was in a winning Man U FA Youth Cup team.
Realfootball
Guest
Axel, I think it is fair to say some clubs have done a good job at fostering younger players. The Roar have been standouts. The Fury are now building a wonderful team on young, quick players. I also think that by far the worst offender for NOT giving younger players a shot is Ernie Merrick, so I can understand your perspective. Frankly, Merrick's approach is a disgrace, and Victory are paying the price now. They might as well have not had a youth team at all.
AndyRoo
Roar Guru
Be fair Art they will get a run ..... in the League cup.
Art Sapphire
Guest
correct Andyroo being part of the youth set up at a big team is no guarantee of success. Of the 37 players listed as being part of the Academy this year at Man U, how many of them will get play for Man U or even another EPL club for that matter. My guess, not even double digits. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manchester_United_F.C._Reserves_and_Academy
AndyRoo
Roar Guru
"Its an endless tail chasing argument. We’ll never know." Agree with this Theres a lot of 16 year olds that sign for leeds or Man Utd and don't make it in the priemership at all. Brad Groves went to leeds young, it didn't work out and then didn't even make it in the NSL.You don't hear about cases like him. Their was a very young striker at Wollongong Wolves who got a few games but then left to Southampton ...last seen in State league somewhere. Meanwhile Chippers stayed in Australia for yonks and had a fine professioanl career. Luke Chadwick came through at Man U and played a decent amount of games one season... Emerton had a better career than him in the long run though.
Axel V
Guest
He left in 2007, i'm not sure exactly when, it's possible that he has was 19 years and 10 months. You can call it whatever you want, it's just my opinion, I want the A-League to improve and go foward, I get frustrated when i see no hoper, older players such as Mrdja, Moss getting selected ahead of more talented youngsters, such as i've seen with Merrick at Victory and noticed it in some other teams.
Realfootball
Guest
I stand corrected on his age. I believe, however, he left at 19. There is some very negative stuff about the A League here that really doesn't stand up to examination at all. An awful lot of cultural cringe driven hyperbole.
Realfootball
Guest
Absolutely. He made some very poor decisions, no doubt.
Realfootball
Guest
Its an endless tail chasing argument. We'll never know.